Neglected heroes of Rashtriya Rifles

I HAVE received a letter from a soldier from somewhere in J and K, a copy of which is enclosed. It raises pertinent queries which cry for “a suitable reply” from all—the press, the government, the political leadership, the intelligentsia and, above all, the common person in the street.

“For last 2-3 months the politicians, Press and many more have made “Kargil” and the martyrs as “National Heroes”. Persons like Flt Lt. Nachiketa are being worshipped. Everyday TV and Radio speak about Kargil 20 to 30 times. 50 per cent of columns of newspapers are full of Kargil and Kargil Heroes. Today a Jawan who died even after falling from a rock is costing Rs 40-45 lakh just because he died in Kargil. The BJP has made it a big issue and so have other parties.

What about the Rashtriya Rifles?

Are we not dying for this country?

Are we not fighting against Pak sponsored militants?

Are we not serving in the same Indian Army?

Are we not fighting with all scarcities as well as bad terrain at 12000 feet against all odds?

Kargil happened for two months. We have been fighting since 1994 when RR was launched.

In Kargil at least we knew where the enemy is?

How it looks like? How much? With what weapons?

They had all support of latest equipment, artillery and above all support of the countrymen. They lost 500-600 jawans and officers. Our count is in thousands. We also have families who suffer same agony when one of us dies. But we never get importance. Our bodies also require national salute. We also die for India. We are poorly organised battalions with troops from different units coming for two years. They were highly organised units full of motivation and morale. RR units always remain in field while other units go through normal peace field routine”.

PROF. J.S.YADAV
Kurukshetra

Who’s secular

It is an insult to the Hindus and Sikhs, who had to leave their hearths and homes forever in 1947, to save their life and honour, to say that Jinnah was secular, as has been described in your editorial “Benazir roots for minorities” (Sept 7) by stating that “Jinnah’s dream of a secular Pakistan was destroyed in his lifetime.”

We cannot whitewash his sins, simply because he uttered some such words only once, and that too after he had done his job of liquidating almost all the Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan, the country which he had created by partitioning India, solely for the Muslims. Jinnah was not stupid like the Congress leaders, and his statement was meant to befool the Congressmen and to make comfortable the living of Muslims in the truncated India. Thus he ate his cake, and had it too.

It would not be out of place to mention that his followers extolled him as second Aurangzeb, and what he did to eliminate non-Muslims from Pakistan has no parallel in the entire history of the world. Direct Action call given by him in 1946 to achieve Pakistan, and consequent killings of the Hindus and Sikhs certainly qualify him to be conferred the title of Aurangzeb.

There are many pseudo-seculars who believe that Aurangzeb too was secular as he had Rajputs in his army. Very fine argument. That way the Britishers would be entitled to be called Indian, as they too engaged very large numbers of Indians in the Armed Forces, and Mahatma Gandhi as a narrowminded person as he did not tolerate British rule.

It is a tragedy for India that Jinnah, who divided India, should be called secular, and Veer Savarkar, Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lala Lajpat Rai and Swami Shraddhanand be branded as communal, although they devoted all their energies for the freedom of India. It is shameful that Aurangzeb be called a secular but Shivaji and Rana Pratap be called communal.

ANAND PRAKASH
Panchkula